Katie McGarry once again weaves a masterpiece of heartache, bravery, self-discovery, and love in CRASH INTO YOU, a companion novel to her previous works, PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO. Isaiah and Rachel are teenagers who are insanely relatable and heartbreaking at the same time. Both are tortured emotionally and sometimes even physically, but it is never in a way that comes off as angst. Their characters seem so incompatible on the surface, but McGarry brings out their surprisingly deep connections to each other in a way that slowly, but powerfully unfolds, until you find yourself rooting for them so hardly, you may or may not (you will) cry when things get shaken up.

What I love most in McGarry's books is the message the characters send. In CRASH INTO YOU, Isaiah and Rachel face the challenge of not only being together but being their own self outside of the relationship. Rachel doesn't feel she is accepted by her parents or her brothers and can't bring herself to let her true colors shine...or open up about her illness. Isaiah can barely dare to hope for a future for himself, the tattooed punk most people run from. This novel not only takes a look at what it means to be yourself, with or without the approval of those around you, but what might happen if you aren't yourself.

While there are many great, enjoyable reads in this world, few carve a true place in your heart. CRASH INTO YOU holds all the potential and more to do that to its readers, just as it does me when I read it. It holds beauty in and out of the characters and a storyline as fast and exciting as the car races it describes.

Book Summary